Is anesthesiology realistic for me?

[medstud22]

DO student, mediocre grades (mid B average), USMLE step I of 207, COMLEX level I of 640. Some research in a non-related field, have done pretty well so far in 3rd year. Is it possible to do anesthesia on the allo side or am I done as far as acgme is concerned? That 207 was an anomaly as I was scoring pretty high on practice NBMEs, pretty confident I can score well on step II. Should I look towards the DO programs? I think I may have shot myself in the foot by taking the USMLE in retrospect.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[okayplayer]

Line up some away rotations at reasonable programs (not Harvard or Stanford...some place you can match), kill USMLE Step 2 and see how it goes. If you get >240 on Step 2 you can definitely still match somewhere.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

Line up some away rotations at reasonable programs (not Harvard or Stanford...some place you can match), kill USMLE Step 2 and see how it goes. If you get >240 on Step 2 you can definitely still match somewhere.

agree - though a 240 would be ideal as long as you improve significantly I think you have a shot. go for it.

 

[kazuma]

Agree with the above comments. I'd recommend a year subscription to UWorld and do questions throughout the year. A supplemental review course like DIT might be helpful too. You'll definitely have to take USMLE step 2 early 4th year (July) so you can have your scores back in time for ERAS ~sept 1st. Make sure you have all of your LOR's, PS, scores etc uploaded and ready to submit on 9/1. Don't skimp on the primary eras apps, apply broadly (60+ programs isn't a stretch) to programs that currently have DO's residents.

 

[medstud22]

Thanks guys/gals, I plan to take step II early and hope to do well. Just wondering what programs I should look at when rotating and how many places to rotate at. I can potentially rotate at as many as 5 programs. Let me know what you think guys.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I'm far from an expert on this process, but I've applied mostly to midwestern programs and have seen quite a few DOs on the interview trail. It seems that the programs in the middle of the country are pretty DO-friendly.

 

[sevoflurane]

Just do your best. The sky is the limit with enough motivation. Good luck.